MyNameIsAric's 98 FULL width SAS

I will keep this first post updated with my progress so people don't have to weed through all the boring crap associated with these buildup threads.
So far I have:

Front axle:
Dana 60 35 spline kingpin high pinion from a 79 f-250/350
detroit locker
dedenbear knuckles
5.38 gears
alloy usa shafts
longfield u-joints
warn hubs (should have went with drive flanges)
high steer arms with full hydraulic steering

Steering:
2x8 double ended cylinder from surpluscenter.com
steering valve out of an old forklift
misc. hoses and fittings from surpluscenter.com

Rear axle:
Dana 60 30 spline low pinion from a 79 f-250/350 (should have went with a 14 bolt)
full spool
5.38 gears
Disk brake conversion

Tires/wheels:
16.5" hummer h1 8 bolt double beadlocks recentered with custom stazworks centers.
36x12.50 wrangler rt II 6 ply military bias tires(sucky but cheap)

Things I need still:
new rims and tires and hopefully she wont shake so bad at 60mph.


Got axles

Got a new truck so i can dismantle the explorer and tow it around when i'm done.
Welded Diff covers

Rear axle almost done

Front axle almost done

Rear axle under truck

Welding up rear driveshaft (yes, it is square)

Machined parts for the upper control arms

Made coil buckets

Made lower control links

Mocking up Front axle and welded up hydraulic ram mount.

Got myself a forklift orbital for my hydraulic steering

welded on lower control arm mounts

Dropped the front IFS

Sent it to the scrap yard

IFS gone

Front axle starting to go in.

off jackstands

Took out the A/C system and cruise control. Also removed ABS brake controller, but I ended up having to put it back in later for the speedo to work.

Mounted new/slightly larger fluid reservoir for the hydro system.

Mounted the stock power steering cooler for the hydro system

Got this mounted in the engine bay where the A/C junk used to be

Had to chop down this thing first though.

Made some tie rods out of 100% grade A beef.

Installed hydraulic ram and tie rods.

View of the filter, and you can see the high pressure hose running from the pump down to the steering valve.

This is how i connected the stock steering wheel to the steering valve. 3/8" swivel

Better view of the steering valve.

Poor planning caused track bar issues

Made a new track bar bracket

Cut off first track bar bracket

Plated for good measure

Welded on new track bar bracket. Still had minor interference so i move the axle forward another 1/2"
Also started putting on shocks.

Tacked a tone ring to the rear d60 carrier

Reinstalled tone ring sensor so i can get speedometer back

blah blah blah tidied things up and poof.... an explorer that can only go 55mph now. If you have questions, just ask or PM me.

 

[eldercaddy]

WOW! I want to have one.

 

[mounty71]

Where did you get that reservoir for the steering fluid, and the filter? I've been looking into getting a larger reservoir for my truck and would like to add a filter as well, but I haven't found anything yet. And are you still using power steering fluid in your system with the hydraulic steering, or something else now?

 

[mynameisaric]

Where did you get that reservoir for the steering fluid, and the filter? I've been looking into getting a larger reservoir for my truck and would like to add a filter as well, but I haven't found anything yet. And are you still using power steering fluid in your system with the hydraulic steering, or something else now?

The reservoir is from ebay ($23 shipped i think?), the filter is from surpluscenter.com (along with all the other fittings and hoses). And yes I am running mercon V. I could probably run regular hydraulic fluid as I dont think the cylinder or steering valve would mind, but the pump was designed for mercon V. No pump = No bueno. I'm hoping the detergents in the mercon V don't kill the other components however.

 

[mynameisaric]

Lockers work. (well of course the spool does, but the detroit is good to go too!)

And yes, i made it out. Definitely need less air/better tires.

Snow Caps

 

[David89]

Nice Job!!!, Sometime this summer we should go wheeling?

 

[james t]

I bet if you groove those Goodyears they'd work alot better in the white stuff.

 

[mynameisaric]

Nice Job!!!, Sometime this summer we should go wheeling?

Definitely!

I bet if you groove those Goodyears they'd work alot better in the white stuff.

I got 5 of these things for $150. If i would have let the air out of them (they're at 30psi), they would have done better also. I really want some better tires, but i probably will just groove the heck out of them and run them for now.

 

[mynameisaric]

I bet if you groove those Goodyears they'd work alot better in the white stuff.

before

first attempt

second one is slightly different. just made the cuts straight across. I think i like this better.

The mess from 2 tires.... Its a lot of work when the tires are 32 degrees. (the chapstick was the only thing i had in my pocket to show the size of the pile)

 

[mynameisaric]

Nitrous Gauge hooked up

Got the nitrous gauge hooked up. Seems to work good. Need to wait till its warmer to see if my temp gauge works....

 

[RFR2212]

So...

 

[mynameisaric]

So...

So... shock number 4 is on. working on mounting the winch. Need to put the sliders on too. Going to Purdue in the fall so don't be surprised if progress slows down even more.

 

[RFR2212]

Going to Purdue in the fall so don't be surprised if progress slows down even more.

Cha-Ching! Great place to go! I loved many of trips there. Is it wheelable?? I mean, the badlands are only 25mi away.

 

[mynameisaric]

Cha-Ching! Great place to go! I loved many of trips there. Is it wheelable?? I mean, the badlands are only 25mi away.

Purdue Calumet (Hammond, IN campus)... And yeah, i'd say its wheelable. I drove it about 20 miles out to a jeep meet. The truck will do 50-60 and then start to shake quiet a bit. Hydro steer is definitely some work at speed. Got this shot at work

 

[mynameisaric]

anyway, i have a concern.

i was noticing that i chopped out the IFS, and now there is no crossmember until the tranny..... is this an issue? i have a BEEF front bumper (thick angle iron welded to the frame and bolted with (4) 1/2" bolts to a 2x4x.25 tube.

Going through Jefe's, stic-o's, section's, 034x4, and a few others, i havent noticed anyone putting crossmembers back in.... so this isnt an issue or did i skim through the sas threads too fast?

well when i pulled my front bumper last night to do some more welding to it.... the frame went from || to / \

That is an exageration of course, but a front cross member is in order. I had to connect a chain fall between the frame rails to pull it back together to get the bumper back on. And it was not from welding, the frame rails seperated about an inch, so there is no way my welding pulled in the bumper mounts that far.

 

[IZwack]

Section's definitely has a front cross member at the front, its all notched up and blinged out.

 

[TarHeel085]

i have one as well. its 3x3 .25 wall welded right behind the bumper mounts. not a bling a sections though lol

 

[mynameisaric]

this winch is massive, so to fit it in I am probably going to run a 2x2 (.25 wall) underneath the radiator something like \___________/

 

[IZwack]

Big winch eh.. well is that your winch or are you just happy to see me?

 

[mynameisaric]

Big winch eh.. well is that your winch or are you just happy to see me?

Who wouldn't be happy to see you IZ?

Started with a sketch.

Found the problem with my sketch. (i should probably fabricate more. I really felt stupid after looking at it.)

Fixed the problem/Made it look a little more bling.

Welded it in. ( I know i need to relocate my transmission cooler lines....)

 

[alboy79]

What pump did you go with for your hydro steering? I have a 98 with similar mods and will be doing full hydro next. I read back but you never mentioned what pump and any changes needed to make it work. Thanks.